Skeeter needs a paint job...

[slikciv99]

Hi guys,

New here, so thanks for the help. I've got a 1980 Skeeter HP150 that the gel coat seems to have faded quite a bit over the years. I have buffed it over and over again with no great improvement. The boat is in pretty good shape, with nothing but very minor scratches here and there. It is trailer kept and I would like it to shine again. I just painted the trailer and it makes the boat look pretty sad. Questions: Can I paint directly over the top of the existing paint. I'm not looking for a perfect finish, I just want it to look decent again. We are talking about a nearly 30 year old boat, so I'll give up perfection for a little less elbow grease. Do I need to scuff the finish up before I paint?

Thanks ahead of time...

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Skeeter needs a paint job...

99 percent of getting a good paint job is prep work.

So yes, you should scuff up the previous paint, sand and fill, fair the hull.

If you don't want to use any elbow grease, consider just polishing the hull with an orbital polisher and leave it at that.

Painting over the existing paint without prep will give you a very short-lived face lift that will quickly look worse than what's there now.

Erik